Arsenal vs PSV Eindhoven

Arsenal will aim to get the job done and reach the quarter-finals when they take on PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates Stadium in the return leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. 

Despite setting both feet in the Champions League quarter-finals after a stunning 7-1 first-leg victory in Eindhoven, Arsenal’s hopes of ending a two-decade title wait in the Premier League suffered a hammer blow at the weekend. A 1-1 draw at Manchester United opened up a 15-point deficit to pacesetters Liverpool. Therefore, Mikel Arteta’s side could focus on becoming the highest-scoring English side over two Champions League legs amid a six-game winning streak in Europe’s most prestigious competition. That’s their longest such run since 2005 under Arsene Wenger. Moreover, the Gunners head into proceedings buoyed by winning their last four home games in the Champions League without conceding, including back-to-back 3-0 victories against Dinamo Zagreb and Monaco toward the end of the league phase.

Meanwhile, barring a once-in-a-lifetime miracle, visiting PSV have nothing but pride left to play for amid a rotten patch. Since knocking Juventus out in the knockout playoff round, Peter Bosz’s men have suffered three consecutive defeats, which saw them exit the domestic cup competition and lose further ground in the Eredivisie title race. The worst of those three came in the first leg, meaning the Peasants must equal the club’s biggest-ever win in their Champions League history (6-0 vs Zalgiris in 1992/93) to force extra time. However, that’s a pipe dream, not least because the visitors have conceded over two goals per game on average while failing to keep a clean sheet across their last 15 away fixtures in the Champions League.